Karen Bexley

Thanks Neil H. I'll have a closer look at the free version first to see how I get on with it.

Hi Neil, I'm more southwest of you and south of Lyndhurst. I never say exactly where I live on Forums or Social Media, because you never really know who is reading your posts. It's just a security issue for me. Anyway, thanks for posting that link for navigating the night sky 👍

A lovely page your two girls have there Merlin 🥰 There are quite a few Shetland ponies allowed to roam freely around the Forest, they are so adorable.

If that ever happens, at least you could say you knew me before I became famous 🤭

Very sad indeed 😢

Welcome to the Forum Archaeoastronomer. I have found the members to be very helpful and friendly, and I'm sure you'll find that also. I like that link about the New Forest Ponies. I just wish that visitors coming here would read something like that. A lot of them think it is a petting zoo and will stop to give them food and pet them. Although owned by Commoners, they are still wild ponies and can be unpredictable. Plus, overfeeding, especially the wrong kinds of food, can give them serious health issues. It gets me so mad when I see this 😠 As for writing fiction...🤔 The Forest inspires many things in me, but I don't think a best-seller is one of them 🤭 Mill Hill looks like an idyllic setting. Enjoy the forum.

They're adorable Merlin 😍 I don't own any ponies, although I would love to one day, so I get my pleasure from photographing them as much as I can, and going to my local stables for hacks into the Forest (at least I did until the lockdown came into effect). It's a much cheaper way of doing it, and I can still fulfil my passion for riding.

Thank you Merlin. I feel very lucky to be able to live in the New Forest. I can fulfil my passion for walking, photography, communing with the ponies (and, of course, astronomy) 😃

Thanks Merlin 🙂

Thank you Nigella.

Thank you dweller. Good advice.

I know it is going to be frustrating at times, but I'm prepared for that. It was quite cloudy here last night. I could see a couple of stars with the naked eye late evening but not an awful lot.

Thank you for the welcome Roger. I haven't considered joining a local Astronomy Society, preferring to do it on my own for now. It may be something I'll think about in the future, I don't know yet 🤔

I'm trying my best Dave, but those weather Gods and Goddesses just keep ignoring my pleas for clear skies 😇 I'll try harder next time 🤭

Hello fellow Forester. I don't know which part of the Forest you are in but I didn't get any thunder and lightning, just heavy rain.

They're here already Kev, and have been for the past three nights 🙁

Well, acting on adviceI about a suitable telescope to start off with which I received on the Forum, I convinced myself to buy one 🤗. I went through "First Light Optics" and purchased a new Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian telescope and a Telrad Finder. The Telrad arrived yesterday but the telescope will take about 3 weeks. Gives me extra time to get my stargazing plans organised 😃

Hi Jon, thank you for the welcome. I couldn't agree more about the friendly and knowledgeable members on this Forum. Good luck with your new set-up when it arrives. You'll have to tell us how you get on with it.

Thanks Rob.

Thanks Carole. I know exactly what you mean. A few weeks ago I took a photo of the Moon on auto and it was blurry and washed out. I then tried a couple of different manual settings, which were slightly better but I didn't get much detail. To be honest I gave up after that, but I'm more determined now to try harder and experiment with a few more camera settings. I've never tried the stacking technique, so that's uncharted territory for me If I eventually get some shots I'm fairly happy with I'll post them on here (but don't hold your breath, I've got a long way to go yet.)

Thanks Alan. I guess I'll have to make intelligent choices of equipment before I buy, and not buy on a whim. After all, I must keep my Bank Manager sweet 😉

Thank you iapa. I'll have a look through when I get chance.

Thank you Michael. Since I joined (3 days ago) I've had cloudy skies, and tonight there is rain and strong winds forecast, so not much chance to kick start my new hobby yet ☹️

I've just checked the weather forecast for my area today and it's not looking very good at all. Rain and strong winds up to 44 mph are expected ☹️ Oh dear, no stargazing tonight then.

Thank you Steve.